Powers/Abilities: Devilman's powers include heightened physical and
mental capabilities; electricity/laser beam which come from his antennae;
some sort of mental control from his antennae; flight; regeneration from
damage (his arm has been torn apart from his body before); and the ability
to enlarge himself to a huge size.

History: (Devilman series, modified origin) Akira Fudo is a
shy boy who is staying with his friend Miki Makimura while his parents are
away on a business trip. One day another friend of his, Ryo Asuka (secretly
the son of Satan), informs Akira of the existence of demons and how they
once ruled the Earth. Ryo tells his friend that the only hope of defeating
a demon is to bond with one, thus gaining its powers, and he convinces Akira
that he should allow this to happen. The two go to a satanic nightclub, and
Ryo launches into murderous assaults on the clubbers, hoping to draw a demon
to them. As various party-goers transform into demons, Amon the Lord of Darkness
turns up. He attempts to possess Akira, but the youth's pureness turns the
tables, and Akira gains control rather than the other way around, becoming
Devilman.

Devilman proceeds to battle and kill demons wherever he finds them, including
Amon's former lover Shirenu. Eventually Devilman and Satan himself clash
during Armageddon.

(Amon Devilman Revelation) Years later Akira has become the leader
of the Devilman Army, dedicated to hunting down the demons which have by
now turned the world into a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

The original movie appearance of Devilman had a slightly different origin
for the character than all the anime that followed.

(Devilman, original version) Akira Fudo becomes the unwilling
host body of the recently awakened demon Devilman, after the creature and
two others of its kind awaken from a long sleep in the Himalayas. Orphaned
because his father, Devilman's original choice of host, died from fright,
Akira is adopted by the Makimura family. Their kindness and his growing love
for his foster sister Miki allow him to convince Devilman to drop his original
mission of death and destruction, but this displeases Zenon, the demon's
former boss, who sends others of his kind after Devilman. In order to survive,
Akira has to come to terms with his newfound demonic powers.

Manga forms of the character first appeared in 1972, running to five volumes
in the end. The success of the manga and the original movie meant allowed
Go Nagai to launch a new, ongoing cartoon in July 1972.

In 1973, Go Nagai created a sequel to Devilman, called Violence Jack. It
starred Satan, penitent for his crimes and reincarnated into the new and
terrible world he had helped to create.

Lizabeth Correre informs me "The Misfit's old lead singer, Glenn Danzig,
has a comic book company called Verotik which now publishes Devilman." She
notes that she doesn't know if it is new material (still done by Go Nagai)
or reprints.